Ovechkin’s wife Nastya Ovechkina showed off the skates on Instagram earlier in the day.

Ovechkin was intent on wearing the fancy boots during the game, but the NHL denied the Russian’s request. Outside of goalie masks, the NHL employs draconian equipment and uniform rules, which limits player individuality as much as possible.

“Obviously I want to play with them, but the league said no,” Ovechkin said to the AP’s Stephen Whyno. “I think they’re sick. They’re pretty cool. It’s something new. Nobody done it before. It’s nice to be first guy.”

Two years ago, I asked John Dellapina, the NHL’s Group Vice President, Communications, about the incident.

“The Winter Classic is a unique event in many respects, and normal regulations and practices are sometimes relaxed to accommodate the uniqueness of the event (e.g., Alzner’s sunglasses),” Dellapina said. “While no specific request was made in this case, and the accommodation was not a knowing one, it’s not something we are following up on for ‘compliance’ or ‘enforcement’ purposes. We don’t expect that the situation will be repeated, and it certainly won’t be repeated in a normal NHL environment.”